Mrs. Bueso invited us to a Christmas party at this hotel/resort/boat rental place down by the lake. The owners, Richard the Brit and Liliana, his beautiful Honduran bride of years and years, apparently love to entertain. They had some drinks, light appetizers and a fish and chips dinner. The decorations were festive, and we all sort of just wandered through the tiny crowd getting to know different people and making new friends. It felt cozy yet foreign at the same time, it was the perfect holiday open house. They even served a Honduran fruitcake for dessert! It was sort of like a spice cake with those odd fruit bits inside. Richard loved to roam the room refilling wine glasses and slipping into the varied conversation. They were such gracious hosts!
The guest list was pretty eclectic, but that kept things fun. There was a fellow gringa teacher living in Tela teaching 4th grade at a bilingual school. I think we were all a little jealous of her class of fourteen. We met a resort owner from La Ceiba, so that´s a fun contact! There was a crowd of Spaniards working for the embassy in Teguz. We had a good time talking about the different dialects, and sharing stories of our time here. We also got to know a group of women who share a love for Malbec and other rico Argentinian wine, and work with a local orphanage. Bobby, the owner of D&D was there with some of his staff and they got on us for not having been back since August. They have nightly bonfires that sound so tempting, but traveling anywhere further than a few houses down can get tricky after sundown.
The holiday season was a little odd being so far from home and family, but this little Christmas dinner was a nice way to kick off the holiday celebrations.
